Flowering Time Control in Agricultural and Horticultural Crops

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Background

Flowering at the right time allows plants to form their seeds under favorable conditions and maximize their chances of survival. Flowering time, also known as heading date in cereals, is one of the most important characteristics in terms of the yield of agricultural crops and the commercial value of horticultural crops. Fine-tuning flowering time is a critical plant breeding objective when breeding a new variety that can adapt to dynamic environments and climates.

The timing of flowering is influenced by endogenous genetic components such as plant hormones and age and various environmental cues, such as day length, temperature, light, stress, and nutritional status. Plants determine the flowering time by producing flowering inducers, called florigens, or inhibitors, called anti-florigens. In general, the genetic cascade of flowering consists of sensing the light and temperature environment, integrating circadian clock cycles, transducing florigen or anti-florigen signals, and determining gene expression in the floral meristem. The central components of the flowering pathway are either conserved or have evolved in a strain-specific manner across different plant species. Domestication and modification through breeding and biotechnology and chemical control of flowering gene expressions are likely to improve the flowering traits of crops.

The molecular mechanisms controlling flowering time have been widely studied in the model long-day plant Arabidopsis thaliana, but they are still very limited in short-day and midday flowering plants. Due to the classical response to light and temperature in nature, genetic and molecular study of flowering onset in agricultural crops will not only be helpful to fully understand the landscape of flowering onset traits in plants but also be able to directly provide resources for new cultivars to adapt flowering timing to local growing conditions. A better understanding of flowering performance characteristics and artificial control in ornamental and horticultural plants can greatly enhance their commercial success.

We welcome submissions of original research papers, reviews, and methods, including (but not limited to) research on the following sub-themes:
1.Molecular basis of flowering time control in agricultural and horticultural crops.
2.Plant physiology during the flowering of crops under different environmental conditions.
3.Comparison and evolutionary study of genes involved in flowering in different crops.
4.Natural variation and quantitative trait loci involved in flowering in crops.
5.Improvement of crop traits in flowering by modern biotechnology or chemistry.

Disclaimer: We welcome submissions of different types of related manuscripts, but descriptive studies lacking significant biological advances would be rejected without peer review.

Keywords: Flowering transition, florigen, photoperiod, temperature, crops

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